Rich Guasco's 1929 Ford

Guasco's roadster was part of a historical collection of past AMBR and Slonaker Award Winners at the 2025 Grand National Roadster Show. The display was curated in collaboration with the Petersen Automotive Museum. Photo courtesy of Mike Kosulandich.

Photo courtesy of Mike Kosulandich.

1929 Ford Model A Roadster built by Rich Guasco of Pleasanton, California. Built in the 1950s, the car won the prestigious America's Most Beautiful Roadster award at the 1961 Grand National Roadster Show and remained an enduring symbol of early hot rod culture.

Background and Construction

Rich grew up in Pleasanton, during the 1950s, where he developed a passion for hot rods while living at his family's wrecking yard. Inspired by a friend's 1929 Ford hiboy roadster on deuce rails, Guasco decided to build one himself. He salvaged a 1932 Ford five-window coupe from his father's yard, torched off the body, and bolted a 1929 Ford roadster body to the frame. This became his first hot rod, which he drove to Amador Valley High School during his sophomore year. With assistance from his auto shop teacher, Mr. Fritz, he refined the car's design in his junior year.

While joyriding one day, the car's brakes failed, leading to an incident that prompted his father to order its destruction. To avoid this, Guasco quickly disassembled the vehicle and scattered the parts throughout the wrecking yard, claiming it had been junked. Once the situation cooled down, he reassembled the roadster and continued driving it for several years.

Recognition and Awards

Guasco's roadster gained national recognition when it appeared on the cover of the 1960 Hot Rod Magazine Annual edition, along with several other magazine features. In 1961, he entered it in the Grand National Roadster Show, held at the Oakland Exhibition Hall. To his surprise, the roadster won the prestigious "America’s Most Beautiful Roadster" (AMBR) trophy, solidifying its place in hot rod history.

Restoration and Later Years

After his success in the early 1960s, Guasco shifted his focus to professional drag racing, where he became known for the legendary Pure Hell fuel altered. Meanwhile, his award-winning 1929 roadster sat in a garage, covered by a tarp, for nearly three decades.

In the late 1990s, as the 50th anniversary of the Grand National Roadster Show approached, former winners were invited to display their cars at the Cow Palace. Guasco, realizing that his roadster had been neglected for years, enlisted the help of his friends George Withers and Dan Clifton to restore it. The team worked tirelessly, often pulling all-nighters, to bring the car back to its former glory in time for the event.

Following its restoration, Guasco began driving the roadster once again. He traveled with it extensively, participating in Goodguys Rod & Custom Association shows across the United States, including stops in Ohio, New York, Indiana, Colorado, and Arizona. Over the years, he accumulated approximately 65,000 miles behind the wheel of the rebuilt hot rod.

Legacy

Guasco’s contributions to hot rodding and drag racing earned him multiple honors, including inductions into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame, and the San Francisco Rod, Custom and Motorcycle Show Hall of Fame. Reflecting on his journey in a 2011 interview with SFGate, he remarked that driving his hot rod roadster since the 1950s had been "the ride of [his] life."